1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the use of medical instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to vessel sealing devices.
2. Background of the Related Art
A surgical forceps is a plier-like instrument which relies on mechanical action between its jaw members to grasp, clamp, and constrict tissue. Energy-based surgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and energy, e.g., RF energy, ultrasonic energy, microwave energy, thermal energy, light energy, etc., to affect hemostasis by heating tissue and blood vessels to coagulate and/or cauterize tissue. Certain surgical procedures require more than simply coagulating/cauterizing tissue and rely on the unique combination of clamping pressure, precise energy control, and gap distance (i.e., the distance between opposing jaw members when closed about tissue) to “seal” tissue.
Typically, once tissue is treated, e.g., sealed, the surgeon has to accurately sever the tissue along the newly formed tissue seal. Accordingly, many surgical forceps have been designed which incorporate a knife or blade member that effectively severs the tissue after forming a tissue seal.
Vessel sealing instruments are used in many surgical procedures to seal and dissect tissue. Occasionally, during a surgical procedure, bleeding will occur while the surgeon is using the vessel sealing instrument. In such situations, the surgeon may be required to stop use of the vessel sealing instrument, remove it from the surgical site, and insert a separate suction device in order to clear the blood and other bodily fluids that have collected at the surgical site.